It is hard to pinpoint this film's genre: it is at once a romance, a melodrama, a screwball comedy, and at the end a disaster movie. On paper it looks like an unholy mess, but in reality this is one of the most charming love stories of 1930s cinema.
Irene (Jean Arthur) seeks to divorce her possessive husband (Colin Clive). He's extremely sore about it, so he tries to pin an adultery charge on his wife by having the chauffeur sexually assault her in her hotel room while he and some witnesses conveniently burst in to "expose" them. While the plan is in motion, a waiter named Paul (Charles Boyer) hears Irene's cries from the room next door. He climbs into her window and masquerades as a jewel thief. He proceeds to "kidnap" Irene and things get INSANE from there on out.
Though the screwball nature of the plot could have turned the movie into a farce, the relationship between Arthur and Boyer is genuinely tender and sweet. Though the term "soul mates" is overused when people discuss romantic films, these two truly seem to fit the criteria! Clive gorges upon the scenery as Arthur's villainous spouse. A shame his life and career were to be cut short the year this film was released.
All in all, History is Made at Night (1937) is like an ice cream sundae with all the trimmings. It's too delicious to resist!
Irene (Jean Arthur) seeks to divorce her possessive husband (Colin Clive). He's extremely sore about it, so he tries to pin an adultery charge on his wife by having the chauffeur sexually assault her in her hotel room while he and some witnesses conveniently burst in to "expose" them. While the plan is in motion, a waiter named Paul (Charles Boyer) hears Irene's cries from the room next door. He climbs into her window and masquerades as a jewel thief. He proceeds to "kidnap" Irene and things get INSANE from there on out.
Though the screwball nature of the plot could have turned the movie into a farce, the relationship between Arthur and Boyer is genuinely tender and sweet. Though the term "soul mates" is overused when people discuss romantic films, these two truly seem to fit the criteria! Clive gorges upon the scenery as Arthur's villainous spouse. A shame his life and career were to be cut short the year this film was released.
All in all, History is Made at Night (1937) is like an ice cream sundae with all the trimmings. It's too delicious to resist!